Page 302 of Sorrow & Strangers

Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Five

Summer

“Rafe?” I knock on his door, and I can hear him and Mira moving around, probably pulling on clothes.

“Come in,” he calls a long moment later, but even still, I cover my eyes as I peer around the door.

“Are you naked? I don’t want to be more scarred than I already am. I have had enough trauma for this lifetime.”

“You’re safe.” Mira laughs.

I slowly lower my hand and peer at a glaring Rafe, but he quickly pushes past it. “Where have you been?” he asks, sniffing the air.

I exhale and step into his room, which smells like ashes, sweat, and pheromones. I close the door behind me and press my back against it. “I was in Drãculea.”

Rafe tenses. “Why?” he asks, and I can feel his irritation, but it’s nothing compared to the stranger’s when I arrived back the first time.

“I have a bad feeling.”

Rafe nods, his shoulders sagging a little. “Me too.”

“Does Alice want the crown?” Mira asks, drawing my eyes. Her own spark with an anger that I’ve never seen in her before. Mira is still extremely new to us, but Rafe trusts her, and I am starting to as well. I get the sense she is familiar with Alice’s situation, though that hasn’t and may never be confirmed.

“She says no,” I say after a beat of consideration.

“You think she’s lying?” Rafe says, his brows drawing.

I shake my head. “Not lying, but I don’t necessarily believe she thinks she is allowed to want it. That she deserves it or will be accepted.”

Rafe bristles at the idea that Alice could have those thoughts. Just like an older brother, I can see his hackles raise.

“She does want to pay her respects to her father.” I exhale, looking down at the crumpled piece of paper in my hand. “I went to Drãculea because things felt off and . . .” I uncrumple the flyer and hand it to Rafe. His eyes darken, and his fangs lengthen at the threat to her. Mira places her hand on his arm, soothing him just enough that his thoughts remain clear.

“They plan to trap her,” he says, his voice gruffer thanks to the demon he’s barely holding back.

I nod, “But we’re not going to let that happen.” I take the flyer back and fold it again. “Alice may not currently want her birthright, but I will be damned if the reason she doesn’t get it is because of anything but her own decision.”

Mira nods. “Who currently holds the throne?”

“I believe it’s a vampire named Dimstraeux.”

Mira growls, the temperature in the room increasing a couple of degrees. Clearly, she knows him, or at least knows of him.

“Babe?” Rafe looks at her, concerned.

“He was a dignitary of Drãculea and would correspond with the other locked realms regarding a cold war of sorts between them.”

“Cold war?” I ask, but I can feel Mira getting more uncomfortable.

“So Alice is in danger if she goes, and effectively ousted if she doesn’t?” Mira asks, changing the subject. Her gaze is on me, though I know she can feel the hole Rafe is burning into the side of her head, having noticed her discomfort.

“Exactly,” I say with a nod. “I will speak to the stranger and ask him to stay away.”

“Why?” Rafe asks, his head snapping to me. “I can feel what’s lurking inside him. It’s as dark as you.”

“No. What we need is for Alice to show her face, pay her respects, and leave quietly.”

“But they’re almost certainly planning a trap.”